Steve Harley

You could be forgiven for thinking that after he had a huge hit with the song Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) in 1975 that Steve Harley disappeared to forever live off the royalties.

The surprisingly truth is that Harley and his band Cockney Rebel continued to have a viable career for several years after that and he continues to play and record today.

South Londoner Harley had not surprisingly been influenced by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones very early in their careers after having classical music tuition as a child and teenager but it was Dylan that made the greatest impact on him.

He started singing in folk clubs at the start of the 70’s before forming Cockney Rebel with drummer Stuart Elliott.

As Cockney Rebel they released two albums The Human Menagerie and The Psychomodo and had a couple of European hits.

But it wasn’t until the band officially became Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel with the 1975 release of The Best Years Of Our Lives and its single Make Me Smile that life changed for Harley.

The single reached No 1. in the UK and many European countries and has been confirmed it one of the most played records in the history of British broadcasting.

The song has been covered more than 100 times in seven languages (including a pretty decent version by Nick Barker in Australia) and has been featured in several movies including The Full Monty, Velvet Goldmine, Best and Saving Grace. The song has also been used on more than twenty TV and radio advertising campaigns around the world.

The song was supposedly about some of the other members of Cockney Rebel and their apparent ability to disappoint Harley.

Other albums followed with Timeless Flight (1976) , Love’s A Prima Donna (1976) and Face To Face (live) following in quick succession. Two solo albums – Hobo With A Grin and The Candidate followed before Harley stepped away from the rock world.

He spent  quite a bit of time in musical theatre and recorded two more solo albums in the 90’s.

Since 1999 Harley has presented his own show for BBC Radio 2, Sounds Of The Seventies comprising classic tracks and rarities from the era and anecdotes from Steve himself. The show aired weekly until 2008.

Steve and his band continue to tour regularly, playing between 70 and 100 concerts most years. In recent times, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel have played Glastonbury Festival three times, the Isle of Wight festival in 2004 and many of Europe’s major rock festivals.

In 2005 he released another album under the name Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel called The Quality of Mercy.

In 2008 he released a book entitled The Impression Of Being Relaxed, a 160 page collection of his diary entries originally published on his website. A three CD anthology of his music has also been released in recent years.

Harley’s other interest is horse racing and he has owned horses since the mid 80’s. Ironically though he has no connection with Irish Group 1 winner Cockney Rebel although he has been at the track when the horse has won several big races. The horses owners actually sought and received Harley’s permission before giving the horse its name.